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Emmanuel Evans-Anfom

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Emmanuel Evans-Anfom (7 October 1919 – 7 April 2021) was a Ghanaian physician, scholar, university administrator, and public servant who served as the second Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology from 1967 to 1973.[2][3][4][5]

Emmanuel Evans-Anfom
FRCSEd FICS FAAS FWACS FGA MSG
Commissioner for Education and Culture
In office
29 September 1978 – September 1979
PresidentFred Akuffo
Jerry John Rawlings
Preceded byPaul Nkegbe
Succeeded byFrancis Kwame Buah
Commissioner for Health
In office
June 1979 – September 1979
PresidentJerry John Rawlings
Preceded byNeville Alexander Odartey-Wellington
Succeeded byMichael Paul Ansah
Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
In office
1967–1973[1]
Preceded byR. P. Baffour
Succeeded byE. Bamfo-Kwakye
Personal details
Born(1919-10-07)7 October 1919
Accra, Gold Coast
Died7 April 2021(2021-04-07) (aged 101)
Accra, Ghana
Spouses
Leonora Evans
​
​
(m. 1952; died 1980)​
Elise Henkel
​
(m. 1984)​
Children4
Alma mater
Profession
Notable AwardsGold Coast Medical Scholar
Scientific career
FieldsAnatomy
InstitutionsUniversity of Ghana Medical School

Early life and education

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A member of the Ga-Dangme people of Accra, Evans-Anfom was born on 7 October 1919 at the Evans family house, High Street, Jamestown, Accra.[6] His father, William Quarshie Anfom, was of Nzema and Shai origin - Shai Hills area in Dodowa and Doryumu.[6][7] His mother, Mary Emma Evans, was the daughter of William Timothy Evans, a teacher-catechist of the Basel Mission who taught at Salem School at Osu.[6] The Evans family was a well-known Gold Coast Euro-African Ga family that descended from Welsh traders.[6] In 1925, he enrolled at the Government Junior Boys' School in Jamestown and later, the Government Senior Boys' School at Rowe Road.[6] He attended the Presbyterian middle boarding school, the Salem School at Osu[8] where the principal at the time, Carl Henry Clerk encouraged him to apply for a Cadbury Scholarship for study at Achimota College instead of going the normal teacher-training route at the Basel Mission-founded Presbyterian teacher training seminary at Akropong, now known as the Presbyterian College of Education, Akropong.[6][9] He was elected the School Prefect of Achimota School. In January 1939, he enrolled in the inter-preliminary medical course of Science at Achimota.[6] In that course, he received advanced training in physics, chemistry, botany and zoology.[6] At Achimota, he won a Gold Coast medical scholarship in 1941 to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating in 1947.[10][11][12] He also studied in a postgraduate diploma course in tropical medicine (DTM&H), completing in 1950.[6][13] He elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1963.[7] He captained the Achimota School Hockey XI, the Combined Scottish Universities Hockey XI, and was club captain of Edinburgh University Men's Hockey Club.[14]

Medical career

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After Edinburgh, Evans-Anform worked for a year at the Dewsbury General Infirmary in Leeds, Yorkshire, as a House Physician and House Surgeon and Casualty Officer.[7] Evans-Anfom worked in various hospitals in the government medical system: Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Dunkwa-On-Offin Government Hospital, Tarkwa Government Hospital, Kumasi Central Hospital, Tamale Government Hospital and Effia Nkwanta Hospital in Sekondi.[6] During his long medical career, he worked with other medical trailblazers such as Susan Ofori-Atta and Matilda J. Clerk, the first and second Ghanaian women physicians respectively.[15][16] He also did medical outreach in the Congo in the 1960s.[9]

Academic career

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A pioneering medical educator himself, he was approached by the first Ghanaian surgeon, Charles Odamtten Easmon in 1963 for a teaching professorship position in Anatomy at the then newly established University of Ghana Medical School, an offer he eventually accepted.[6] Evans-Anfom acted as the Chief Medical Administrator at the medical school. In 1958, Evans-Anfom co-founded the Ghana Medical Association together with Drs. Charles Odamtten Easmon, Silas Dodu, Anum Barnor and Schandorf. He later served as president of the association from 1968 to 1970.[17] He served as the President of the West African College of Surgeons from 1969 to 1971.[7] He was also elected the Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council in 1979.[7] He was a founding Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences in 1986. He was also elected a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons.[7] He was also the Chairman of the Centre for Scientific Research into Plant Medicine.[14]

Term as Vice-Chancellor

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Evans-Anfom served as the second Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) from 1967 to 1973.[2] At KNUST, Anfom first introduced the ceremony commonly known as "Matriculation" into the university entry ceremonies. He chaired a myriad of committees, boards and missions, both locally and on the international scene in Africa, Europe and North America.[6]

Politics and public service

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Evans-Anfom served concurrently as the Commissioner of Education and Culture and Commissioner for Health under the military government of the Jerry John Rawlings-led Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) in the late 1970s.[6] He was a member of the Council of State in the Hilla Limann government from 1979 to 1981.[9] During the Provisional National Defence Council era under Jerry Rawlings, Evans-Anfom was appointed the chairman of the National Council for Higher Education (now National Council for Tertiary Education) and the chairman of the Education Commission.[9]

He was president of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (1987–90) and chairman of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC).[9] During Evans-Anfom's time as Commissioner of Education, Rawlings appointed him the chair of a special commission to review the existing Ghanaian educational system, and the committee introduced reforms beginning in 1987. Changes under the Evans-Anfom Committee included establishing a nine-year basic education consisting of primary school (six years) and junior secondary school (three years), followed by a newly established senior secondary school education (three years); requiring successful passage of examinations for the end of both secondary school sequences; and changing the emphasis of education from strictly academic to also include vocational, technical and practical training.[18] Other changes implemented by the committee included grouping secondary school curricular programs into five categories: Agriculture, General Arts and Science, Business, Technical, and Vocational.[18]

Personal life

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Evans-Anfom had four children with his first wife Leonora Francetta Evans, a West Indian American of Bahamian descent, who he wedded on 13 December 1952 in Accra.[7] Leonora Evans died in 1980 in Edinburgh.[7] In 1984, he married Elise Henkel.[2][6] Evans-Anfom was a founding member and president of the Gold Coast and Ghana Hockey Associations in 1950 and 1957 respectively.[9] He also captained the Gold Coast and Ghana National Hockey Teams.[14]

He served as a Presbyter and Senior Presbyter of the Ebenezer Presbyterian Church, Osu, where he was a congregant. He served as Chairman, Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture (1986–2002) and President of the Ghana Boys Brigade.[7]

Death and funeral

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Evans-Anfom died on 7 April 2021 in Accra, aged 101 years.[19][20][21][22] He was a given a ceremonial funeral by the Government of Ghana in recognition of his contributions to society.[23][24][25]

Awards and honours

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In 1996, he was adjudged the "Alumnus of the Year" by his alma mater, the University of Edinburgh for "his major contribution to the development of medicine in the Congo and to medical education in Ghana".[26]

Selected works

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  • To the Thirsty Land: Autobiography of a Patriot, Africa Christian Press, 2003[11]
  • "Intestinal Perforation – Some Observations on Aetiology and Management"[10]
  • "The Evidence for Transformation of Lymphocytes into Liver"[10]
  • "Political leadership and national development in Ghana"[28]
  • "Traditional medicine in Ghana : practice, problems and prospects"[29][30]
  • "Report of the National Consultative Committee on Education Finance, September 1974-January 1975"[31]
  • "Development and dissemination of appropriate technologies in rural areas : international workshop held in Kumasi, July 1972"[32]

References

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  1. ^ "Dr. E. Evans-Anfom - Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology". Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Former Vice Chancellors". www.knust.edu.gh. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Meet Dr. Emmanuel Evans-Anfom, The Oldest Living Medical Practitioner In Ghana". OMGVoice.com. 9 October 2017. Archived from the original on 26 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  4. ^ "Dr. Emmanuel Evans-Anfom Archives - citifmonline.com". citifmonline.com. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
  5. ^ "President Visits Ghana's Oldest Medical Practitioner - Daily Guide Africa". dailyguideafrica.com. 4 January 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Frimpong, Enoch Darfah. "Ghana news: Dr Evans-Anfom: One of Ghana's talented surgeons". Graphic Online. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Dr. Emmanuel Evans-Anfom (October 7th, 1919 - April 7th, 2021) Funeral Brochure" (PDF).
  8. ^ "Osu Salem". www.osusalem.org. Archived from the original on 5 November 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d e f (Mrs.), Margaret Safo (29 July 2006). The Mirror: Issue 2,693 July 29 2006. Graphic Communications Group. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017.
  10. ^ a b c "Dr. E. Evans-Anfom". Archived from the original on 4 July 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Autobiography of Dr Evans-Anfom launched in Accra". www.ghanaweb.com. 30 November 2001. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  12. ^ "Teknocrats join Dr Evans-Anfom to celebrate 96th birthday". Modern Ghana. GNA. 10 October 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  13. ^ Tetty, Charles (1985). "Medical Practitioners of African Descent in Colonial Ghana". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 18 (1): 139–144. doi:10.2307/217977. JSTOR 217977. PMID 11617203. S2CID 7298703.
  14. ^ a b c "Dr Emmanuel Evans-Anfom – In Memoriam". Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  15. ^ Patton, Adell Jr. (13 April 1996). Physicians, Colonial Racism, and Diaspora in West Africa (1st ed.). Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 9780813014326.
  16. ^ Patton, Adell (1996). Physicians, Colonial Racism, and Diaspora in West Africa. University Press of Florida. p. 317. ISBN 9780813014326. physicians colonial racism and diaspora in west africa reviews.
  17. ^ "History of the Ghana Medical Association". Ghana Medical Association. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  18. ^ a b Adu-Gyamfi, Samuel; Joselyn Donkoh, Wilhemina; Adinkrah Addo, Anim (September 2016). "Educational Reforms in Ghana: Past and Present" (PDF). Journal of Education and Human Development. 5 (3): 158–172. doi:10.15640/jehd.v5n3a17 (inactive 1 November 2024). Retrieved 7 April 2021.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  19. ^ "Dr. Evans-Anfom:1919-2021". Modern Ghana.
  20. ^ "Ghana's oldest medical doctor dies at 101". GhanaWeb. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Photos: Mahama receives family of the late celebrated surgeon, Emmanuel Evans-Anfom - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Book of Condolence opens for Evans-Anfom". Daily Graphic. 12 April 2021.
  23. ^ "Dr Evans-Anfom Laid To Rest". PeaceFmOnline. 14 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Former KNUST Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Evans-Anfom laid to rest". GhanaWeb. 15 May 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Pre-burial service held for Dr Evans-Anfom". Graphic Online. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
  26. ^ "The University of Edinburgh and Africa". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h "About". theosoban.org. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  28. ^ Evans-Anfom, E. (1992). Political leadership and national development in Ghana. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified. OCLC 34172571.
  29. ^ Evans-Anfom, E.; Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (1986). Traditional medicine in Ghana: practice, problems and prospects. Accra: Academy of Arts and Sciences. OCLC 20741306.
  30. ^ Evans-Anfom, Emmanuel (1993). Traditional medicine in Ghana: practice, problems and prospects. Accra: Ghana Acad. of Arts and Sciences. OCLC 600208302.
  31. ^ Ghana; National Consultative Committee on Education Finance; Evans-Anfom, E. (1975). Report of the National Consultative Committee on Education Finance, September 1974-January 1975. Accra?: Ministry of Education?. OCLC 605948420.
  32. ^ Evans-Anfom, E. (1972). Development and dissemination of approciate technologies in rural areas: international workshop held in Kumasi, July 1972. Berlin: s.n. OCLC 67266306.
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